Lorenzo Fertitta speaks out against TRT abuse
Speaking via Yahoo! Sports, UFC majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta shares his thoughts on the recent TRT phenomenon affecting mixed martial arts. Fertitta explains that any type of performance enhancing will not and should not be tolerated, also suggesting ways to improve the current system in hopes of preventing further issues within the sport.
Lorenzo Fertitta – Majority Owner of the UFC
“I think its a big deal because it’s affecting the sport and it’s potentially affecting fights. Here we are, a company that goes in and we invest a lot of money, time, and energy to put on a card in Pittsburgh and because of this issue of Testosterone Replacement Therapy the main event gets scrapped. It’s just not fair to anybody. Look, at the end of the day, I think that the commissions have made it, basically, fairly clear to my understanding that Testosterone Replacement is ok – if you abide by certain rules. Which means that your levels have to stay below a level that could be considered performance enhancing.
I guess if some of these fighters have problems with their body naturally (producing) abnormally low testosterone, then theoretically maybe it makes sense to at least get back to the level of a normal person walking down the street. But, what you can’t have are guys abusing this to the point where their levels are at some super-human factor, which is giving them this performance enhancement. I think what needs to happen, there’s got to be more random testing because, unfortunately, it seems like, possibly, guys are getting outside the boundary, maybe while they’re training, and then managing it down where once the week of the fight (arrives), they take the test and they’re fine. I think that there needs to be this random testing to make sure no one is abusing it (…) Look, at the end of the day, I think we came off with a pretty strong response to Nate Marquardt, and kind of how we feel about TRT.”
Photo: UFC owner Lorenzo Fertita during the weigh-ins for UFC 86 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 4, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker
